"Your Majesty, we must gather our armies, or we will face dire trouble!"
"Indeed, Your Majesty! They could attack at any moment. If we don't strategize, it will be difficult to repel their forces!"
"Your Majesty, our Roman Empire is at a critical juncture. We can no longer concern ourselves with the Pope. We must consolidate all our troops to face our enemy together!"
Among them were wise individuals who already understood the purpose behind the Pope's mobilization of those hundred thousand troops.
At this crucial moment, he intended to eliminate the Roman Pope.
Such an action was undoubtedly audacious and shocking.
Yet, many ministers, despite knowing this, dared not speak out.
For the Roman Pope's influence had waned, and speaking in his defense was now meaningless.
Therefore, previously, they could only stand by as the Roman Pope was pursued by their hundred thousand troops.
But now, things were different. Their two hundred thousand strong army had suffered a crushing defeat, with fewer than fifty thousand soldiers returning.
Under such circumstances, if they did not recall the hundred thousand troops, their enemies might be at their doorstep by tomorrow.
Thus, both the wise and the less discerning hoped that the Emperor of the Roman Empire would recall those hundred thousand troops.
The Emperor of the Roman Empire also understood the gravity of the situation.
Although he was immensely reluctant to recall the hundred thousand troops, he had no choice but to issue the order at this time.
However, while giving the order, he could not refrain from harshly reprimanding the generals of the defeated army.
"Wasteful! A bunch of useless, arrogant fools!"
"Do they think they are the only powerful ones in this world? Do they think the twenty thousand strong crusader army was just for show?"
"Knowing that the enemy had annihilated twenty thousand crusaders, why were they so careless and unprepared?"
"Their generals should be held accountable, their families should bear the consequences of their crimes, all of them deserve to die!"
How could the Emperor of the Roman Empire not be furious at the defeat of two hundred thousand troops?
While he had shared the generals' earlier sentiment that Lin Tian's army was insignificant,
this did not prevent him from berating the generals.
Had those men been more cautious, the Roman Empire would not have reached this predicament.
The Roman Pope he wished to hunt down would soon have been killed.
But now, all their efforts were in vain.
He took a deep breath and comforted himself:
"So be it! We will first eliminate these formidable enemies, and then we will search for the Pope's whereabouts!"
"Once these enemies are defeated, the Roman Empire will still be under my control, and the Pope will have no chance to rise again!"
"The priority now is to have sufficient military strength to ensure my own safety!"
Thinking this, the Emperor of the Roman Empire was struck with a headache.
Their Roman Empire had far too few soldiers now. Even with the return of the hundred thousand troops, they would only have one hundred and fifty thousand.
One hundred and fifty thousand troops was not a small number, yet the Emperor of the Roman Empire felt a persistent sense of unease.
After all, Lin Tian's army also numbered one hundred and fifty thousand!
Therefore, the Emperor of the Roman Empire felt he should summon more soldiers.
Only then could his safety, and the safety of the Roman Empire, be ensured.
With this thought, the Emperor of the Roman Empire did not hesitate and issued his command.
"Issue an order for all ambitious youths to actively enlist and defend our Roman Empire!"
"Any man who enlists will have his family generationally elevated to the status of knights of our Roman Empire!"
"Yes!"
As this order was given, the official delivering it cast an extra glance at his Emperor.
Under normal circumstances, such a decree would have been immensely appealing.
Becoming a hereditary knight was a status many commoners would dream of.
But now, things were different. The enemy was on the verge of reaching the capital of the Roman Empire, and the empire was in peril.
Under these circumstances, who would be willing to risk their lives to become a mere knight?
Such terms held little appeal.
Yet, he could not defy his Emperor's words and could only obey.
And so, the Emperor of the Roman Empire's decree was soon disseminated.
However, the reactions from many were varied.
While some had a patriotic spirit and wished to join the Roman Empire's army,
the majority valued their lives more.
"To enlist at this time is no different from seeking death. The enemy is so terrifying, and our generals are so foolish. I have no desire to die!"
"I'm not going either. What use is a hereditary knight if we can't even stay alive? Who would we pass it on to?"
"Let whoever wants to go, go. I'm certainly not. Going means a dead end, not going might offer a chance of survival. Whoever wants to die can go die!"
After these words were spoken, many agreed.
Everyone could see that enlisting at this moment was extremely dangerous.
They had no intention of rushing to their deaths.
With this mindset, ultimately, the Roman Empire only managed to recruit ten thousand troops.
In the end, the Roman Empire had only one hundred and sixty thousand troops to face Lin Tian's one hundred and fifty thousand.
In terms of numbers, the difference was not significant, but in terms of morale, there was a vast chasm.
Lin Tian's army exuded immense power. Having never known defeat, their very presence could intimidate many.
The Roman Empire's army, on the other hand, had many soldiers who had been defeated by Lin Tian's forces.
These men already harbored fear towards Lin Tian's army.
Now that they lacked an absolute advantage in numbers, their fear became even more pronounced.
Had Lin Tian's army not yet reached the capital of the Roman Empire, this army might already have begun to tremble uncontrollably.
However, even without outright trembling, their situation was not much better.
Their negative emotions had spread throughout the entire army.
This caused their fighting spirit to plummet, and their combat effectiveness to continuously decrease, even before Lin Tian's army arrived.
They were filled with dread at the prospect of Lin Tian's army's arrival.
This fear caused their morale to waver incessantly.
If this trend continued, it was likely that the Roman army would crumble without a fight, even before Lin Tian's army attacked.
...